Friedrich Nietzsche remains one of the most quoted and least understood philosophers in history. While many know him for the phrase "God is dead," few realize that he actually lived a quiet, sickly life that ended in madness. For instance, he served as a medical orderly in a war where he witnessed horrors that haunted him forever. Furthermore, his famous mustache was not just a style choice but a massive barrier that allegedly scared women away. Prepare to stare into the abyss with the lonely wanderer of Sils Maria.
Fridrich Nietzche
Fridrich Nietzche suffered a complete mental breakdown after hugging a horse. In 1889, Nietzsche saw a driver whipping a horse in the streets of Turin, Italy. He tearfully threw his arms around the animal’s neck to protect it and then collapsed, never to recover his sanity again.
His sister twisted his philosophy to support the Nazis. Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche took control of his estate after his collapse and edited his unpublished notes to fit her own antisemitic views. Consequently, she invited Adolf Hitler to the Nietzsche archive, permanently staining her brother’s reputation.
He was officially stateless for most of his life. He renounced his Prussian citizenship at age twenty-four when he moved to Switzerland to teach. However, he never acquired Swiss citizenship, which meant he traveled Europe as a man without a country until his death.
Fridrich Nietzche became a university professor at the age of twenty-four. The University of Basel appointed him to the Chair of Classical Philology before he even completed his doctorate or teaching certificate. This achievement made him the youngest person to hold the position in the university’s history.
He proposed to the same woman three times and faced rejection every time. He fell in love with the brilliant Russian intellectual Lou Salomé and asked her to marry him on three separate occasions. She refused him to pursue a free-spirited intellectual trinity with him and their friend Paul Rée instead.
He composed music that experts considered terrible. Before he dedicated himself fully to philosophy, he wanted to be a composer and sent his piano pieces to Richard Wagner. Wagner and other musicians politely, or sometimes rudely, dismissed his compositions as completely amateurish.
Fridrich Nietzche was one of the first authors to use a typewriter. Because his eyesight deteriorated rapidly, he struggled to write by hand for long periods. Therefore, he purchased a distinct device called the Malling-Hansen Writing Ball to continue working, which made his writing style more punchy and aphoristic.
The phrase “God is dead” was a warning, not a celebration. People often interpret this famous quote as an arrogant declaration of atheism. In reality, he wrote it to express his fear that the loss of Christian values would lead Europe into a dangerous era of nihilism and lack of meaning.
He served as a medical orderly during the Franco-Prussian War. He volunteered to help the wounded and traveled to the front lines in 1870. During this time, he contracted dysentery and diphtheria while caring for sick soldiers, which permanently damaged his health.
A photograph shows him posing as a horse in a cart. In a bizarre studio photo orchestrated by Lou Salomé, he and Paul Rée stood in front of a cart while Lou knelt inside holding a whip. This image seemingly foreshadowed his submissive and tragic role in their love triangle.
He hated antisemites despite his sister’s views. He frequently criticized German nationalism and the hatred of Jewish people, which eventually destroyed his friendship with Richard Wagner. He even wrote letters stating that the state should shoot all antisemites.
Fridrich Nietzche lived on a fruit-only diet for a while to cure his headaches. He suffered from blinding migraines and stomach issues his entire life, leading him to experiment with strange health fads. At one point, he ate almost nothing but fruit and steak in a desperate attempt to feel better.
His father died of a brain ailment when Nietzsche was only four. The local pastor passed away from “softening of the brain,” which likely terrified the philosopher later in life. He frequently worried that his own madness was a hereditary curse waiting to strike.
He called Dostoevsky the only psychologist he could learn from. Although he discovered the Russian author late in life, he immediately recognized a kindred spirit. He stumbled upon Notes from Underground in a bookstore and felt an instant connection to the dark insights within.
Finally, his landlord found him dancing naked in his room. After his breakdown in Turin, he exhibited erratic behavior before his friends could take him to an asylum. He wrote bizarre letters signed “The Crucified” and “Dionysus” to various European royalty.
